It’s been three days since one of my bestest friends left Hong Kong.
Kerri had finished her teaching contract in Korea, and came to see me for a few days before embarking on her mini Asia expedition.
For the first time since working at Robuchon 8 months ago, I had 2 consecutive days off. Unreal.
I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend those precious days than with my friend of 11 years.
Her visit gave me a brief, but wonderful fleeting hiatus from HK life. I never forgot that we were in Hong Kong of course, but having her around put me at ease. It just felt so good to just hang out.
Since her departure, I’ve been finding myself unsettled again. It’s a feeling I’ve been trying to suppress for months now.
Today, I bought a bag of Pepperidge Farm soft baked snickerdoodle cookies. It cost almost my hourly wage.
I am not a cookie person. They don’t stir any nostalgia with me and there are more than a handful of other baked good I would choose over cookies.
But I ate the whole bag. Everything.
840 calories.
It wasn’t even good.
For all the notable eating that I do, I am not an emotional eater. HK is slowly turning me into one.
For some reason, I really missed cookies. Actually, I miss baking them. For my friends.
Our tiny, cramped kitchen here angers me. The simple act of boiling water for pasta turns our apartment into a sauna. It’s frustrating. Every time we try to cook dinner, we’re reminded of the equally cramp and suffocating city outside our kitchen. All of that wouldn’t bother me terribly if there was an oven in the equation.
I miss my oven at home, which I’m positive my mom is currently using as storage space for her pots and pans.
I miss baking things for pure pleasure, even after a long day in the kitchen.
I miss baking for my friends and family, but above all, I just miss my friends and family.
avec chantilly 